Some of you might be seeing Zach Lashway from PHL17 around the gym more these days as he continues to make huge progress in his training here at CrossFit215. If you see Zach in passing or in class make sure to introduce yourself and welcome him to the community! If you missed last week’s segment that aired on PHL17 including an update on his training you can view the video here.

We are going LIVE tomorrow!

Make sure to tune into PHL17 tomorrow as Zach goes LIVE at 7:49am ( a teaser around 7:39am) with our very own coach Kyle to discuss paleo nutrition!

CF215 Member Phil Sorrentino is raising funds for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. We would love to see some support from our community to help Phil achieve his goal! The run is October 19th and he only needs $275 to reach his goal of $3,000! Below is Phil’s story.

In February of 2012 I was diagnosed with stage 2, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Over the course of the next 12 months I had a few surgeries and I began a regiment of Chemotherapy (ABVD).

Before cancer, I was arguably in the best shape of my life and I tried my best to stay as active as possible through treatment.

In the early months of 2013 I was cleared and the disease was officially in remission. I immediately started back on my road to recovery which included classes @CF215, boxing, and running. I decided to join the Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training in an effort to get my health back and to take an active role in the fight against blood cancer. It’s been great way for me to raise awareness about the disease and work on my health goals simultaneously. I’ll be running in the Runner’s World 10k in October to raise money for this cause.

Please use the link in this email to donate online quickly and securely plus learn more about my progress. You will receive a confirmation of your donation by email and I will be notified as soon as you make your donation.http://pages.teamintraining.org/epa/rnwrld1013/philipEach donation helps accelerate finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Nearly 958,000 Americans are battling these blood cancers. I am hoping that my participation in Team In Training will help bring them hope and support.On behalf of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, thank you very much for your support. I greatly appreciate your generosity.

All 215 members should have received a newsletter today with instructions regarding how to update their payment information in Wodify. Those who update their information by October 18th, will be eligible to win a free month of membership! If you did not receive the newsletter please email [email protected]

WHYY Y12K Tune In, Lace Up!

CF215 member Julie Gannaway is directing a 12K race on Saturday, November 9th in Fairmount Park. If you would like to participate in and/or support this event please see details below!

Now in its fifth year, the WHYY Y12K is a 12 kilometer (7.45 mile) family-friendly road race great for serious runners, weekend warriors, and first-timers alike! In addition to the 12K, race day events include the Fred 5K (in honor of Fred Rogers’ lifelong commitment to the welfare of children), the 3K Family Walk/Run, and Y Kids Family Fit Zone. Proceeds benefit WHYY.

Festivus Training This Saturday

Those who are competing in Festivus on October 19th will have another opportunity to test the workouts during 10am class this Saturday. If you want to get in a few touches before game day please come prepared!

Women’s Outing

All ladies of 215 are invited to an outing at Linvilla Orchards tomorrow Sunday, October 5th. We are leaving the gym at 11am if you would like to carpool and expect to be there until late afternoon. If you have any questions email [email protected]

On Ramp

The next cycle of On Ramp begins Monday, October 7th at 7:00pm. On Ramp is a prerequisite for entering group classes. We will teach you all of the fundamental movements we use in CrossFit, including gymnastics skills, olympic weightlifting movements, and rowing technique. We have two options to complete the prerequisites. Our group program consists of five classes over two weeks running Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings the first week and Monday and Wednesday the second week all at 7pm with potential for schedule changes. Additionally, we offer one-on-one personal training sessions as well. If you know a friend or family member who is interested in joining please contact [email protected] for more information.

As we approach our second week of de-loading after a VERY successful strength cycle I thought it was fitting to share the below article titled “The Art of Rest.” While the body is pretty amazing in how resilient it can be when recovering from stress, we all need reminders now and then about how important it is to take care of our bodies.

Recently, there has been a lot of media attention criticizing CrossFit for its riskiness in possibly causing rhabdomyolysis. The article titled “CrossFit’s Dirty Little Secret” has gone viral and even fallen into the hands of my mom who was concerned enough to email me and ask if I knew about the risks. While I am not going to turn this into a long winded retort trying to defend anything and everything CrossFit, I will say the entire philosophy behind the programming of CrossFit215 is to make you fitter, stronger, and healthier while achieving these things in the safest and most responsible manner possible. Is there a risk to injury? Always. There is a risk in everything you do. I personally have heard of more injuries occurring from athletes getting hurt or pulling muscles during recreational activities because they didn’t warm up or stretch beforehand. If anyone has any serious concerns about rhabdo or would like to discuss this topic further please feel free to contact us personally. At the end of the day, we encourage and instruct all of our clients to use common sense, listen to your body, and rest properly.

Resting “properly” is trickier and more important than most people realize. When you are injured, how much rest is enough rest? Is there such a thing as too much rest? What if you get out of shape or lose muscle? Is it necessary to rest completely, or is it adequate to rest only the injured part? Is “taking it easy” enough, and for how long? How do you know when to lay off and when to “use it or lose it”? How can you rest anatomy that you need to use all day, every day?

These questions aren’t especially difficult to answer with regards to most ordinary injuries — you sprain an ankle, you stay off it for a while, no big deal. No “art of rest” there!

They become more of a challenge when there is more at stake, when you have an injury that is not healing well and is dragging on and on, or a pain problem that cannot quite be diagnosed. It is more difficult and more important when you are hurt in a way that keeps you from earning a living, or in a body part that is hard to stop using (feet), or when the amount of rest required for healing seems to be cruel and unusual punishment, as with many overuse injuries — injuries that almost always strike at the heart of your work or play.

Both patients and professionals often pay lip service to the importance of rest, while in practice are nearly ignoring it, or even defying it. Patients are often even encouraged to do precisely the opposite of rest: to “work through” their pain, to push too hard too soon, to value on-going performance and fitness over rehabilitation. The number of cases where resting is actually treated like a meaningful strategy seem to be outnumbered about 10 to 1 by the cases where it is given only the most token consideration.

Until those numbers reverse, it’s a topic well worth writing about.

Bourne concentrated on rest and mobility. From somewhere in his forgotten past he understood that recovery depended upon both and he applied rigid discipline to both.

Read

We are super excited to announce our latest partnership with Zachery Lashway and PHL17! Tomorrow Wednesday, September 25th at 6:49am the first segment of our Fitness Challenge with Zachery Lashway and CrossFit215 will air. Don’t forget to set your alarm or DVR and tune in!!!

Update

For the next two weeks, we will be de-loading. This means that following our 8 week strength cycle, and two weeks of testing, all of your bodies got pretty beat up. This is a chance to let them come back. There will still be plenty of intensity but the volume will be a bit lower and you should refrain from any maxes. A single max effort is not the only kind of max by the way. If the strength calls for a certain percentage, and the bar just feels a little heavier than usual and bar speed is super slow, back off. A 3 x 3 should not turn into a 3 rep max on the last set. Do your weight, do not just scale up or down to others weight, this may be the difference between 85% and 95% in some cases. When in doubt, specifically ask your coach about the weight and ask them to watch your speed. Have at it in the conditioning, other than a benchmark, none of them will be designed to allow you to go “there!” You will notice some longer endurance based workouts. All you aerobic junkies, come get it.

Have a great two weeks, following that we will be starting an Olympic lift and upper body priority driven cycle.

Hiking in the Swiss Alps

Written by: Annie Goldenberg (Micah’s Mom)

Up until a year ago, I was the kind of person who never was a runner or lifted weights or even pushed myself excessively when it came to exercise. Then a year ago I started going to Crossfit215. I was 59 years old the first time I set foot in that gym and I did not think I would be able to keep up with anyone there. But luckily I stuck with it and shortly realized that the only person I had to keep up with was myself and the part of me that wanted
to feel stronger and do stuff I’d never done before. One day as I was cutting a few corners in my workout, I read the board at the old gym and it said “if you don’t give it
your all, the only person you’re cheating is yourself (my version of what I can remember from that board). Wow! What a novel idea that was. This was the next
level. Being accountable to myself about how far I could go. When it seemed like I couldn’t do anymore, I would hear, “come on Annie, you’re doing great,” and stay in making each movement the best it could be and see where it took me. There was always more in there than I thought. Surprising myself like that felt great. But the greatest part of that was that it started spilling over into the rest of my life….I can do more that I think I can do and the only way to find out how much I can do is stay in the present moment and make it the best whatever it is, at that moment.

Given the changes of my life since March that was very timely and supportive discovery. But then it gets better because I sign up to do this training in Switzerland and as it turns out it involves hiking through the Swiss Alps for anywhere from 5 to 8 hours each day for two weeks at altitudes of 5 to 9 thousand feet. Not only had I never hiked before but if anyone tried to get me to hike I would refuse and get angry at them. So you can imagine my surprise when I could keep up with people 20 years younger than me, not just climb the regular trails, but scale up and down rocky cliffs and basically move like a mountain goat (my true Capricorn nature finally comes out). Not to make it sound easy, it wasn’t. There was the day we were walking across a bridge and I lost my footing and fell into the water and soaked both my hiking boots from the inside out. I had to slosh up and down the mountain for seven more hours that day. Still, how different even that was because I could still enjoy the day and the challenge of hiking in soggy boots. Everyone around me kept saying, “I think she can do all this stuff because of that CrossFit thing she does back home,” as I helped other people get around mountain passes that were worn down and barely passable. That felt good. And looking out at the magnificient view from the top of a mountain, jumping into an ice cold mountain lake and walking across the pass they call the razor’s edge because the drop on either side would kill you instantly, that feeling I had never even dreamed of before. Yup, going back for more next summer.

Thanks Crossfit215, Micah, Perrin and all the lovely folks I have met here.

Philly Hot List

Thank you to everyone who voted for CrossFit215 during the Philly Hot List contest! Because of your votes, we are proud to announce we finished in 5th place out of all of the gyms in the local area! We are grateful for the support of our members, community and extended families! For the full list of results see below

Mobility Contest Winners

Thank you to everyone who participated in August Mobility Month! We hope that each of you gained valuable knowledge on the importance of devoting time towards maintaining the body. Many of us are limited in range of motion due to neglect. Let’s face it, we know it is downright boring to spend time working through those sticky points and tight areas, but if we spent even half the amount of time working on improving mobility and flexibility as we do working out, we would all see major improvements in movement.

Congratulations to Samantha Hart for winning either a copy of Becoming a Supple Leopard or a Trigger Point Foam Roller! Sam’s consistency and dedication towards spending extra time throughout the month of August did not go unnoticed. Special shout outs to Erin B. and Carolyn for a second place tie and valiant efforts!

Coach. Friend. Mentor. Leader. You are all of these things and more to the community of CrossFit 215. Your dedication is palpable, your support is unwavering, and you strive to make sure every person who walks through the door of CrossFit 215 leaves with a feeling of accomplishment and pride. Thank you for everything you do!

Today is our fearless leader turns 33 years young! Please join us in wishing him a very happy birthday!

4 days agoby requisitefitnessThe @crossfitgames open officially begins this week! The Open is a five-week test of fitness for all levels of ability. It’s an opportunity to showcase your hard work and cheer on your friends. This year we’ve created our own scoreboard to crown the fittest men and women at RF! The workouts will be held every Saturday beginning February 23rd (week 1) for five weeks with heats running from 8am - 11am. If you cannot make Saturday’s and still want to participate, Friday, Sunday, or Monday will be available for make ups. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Register at Games.CrossFit.com under affiliate “CrossFit215” and sign

1 week agoby requisitefitnessit’s Friday! We hope you all had a happy Valentine’s Day • We are running a Valentine’s Day special - 14% off all memberships for one month through next week. Treat yourself or your friends and loved ones to the gift of fitness! DM or click the in bio today!

1 week agoby requisitefitnessDoes your gym have a physical therapist with office hours INSIDE the gym? • We are privileged to be able to work closely with some of the best practitioners in the area. If you’re looking for knowledgeable doctors who specialize in working with active populations then contact @trainingroom .gv today! • #Repost@trainingroom .gv ・・・ Now providing Physical Therapy services @ Requisite Fitness in East Falls. Dr. Nick will be in weekly from 1-8 PM providing one-on-one care for all of your musculoskeletal and performance needs. @nickperugini .dpt specializes in working with active populations and is ready to coordinate with you and your

2 weeks agoby requisitefitness“Why do YOU do it? The Open is a competition that gives structure and focused space for marching toward a goal. Anyone is able to pursue aspirations of reaching the highest level or achieving a first muscle-up. It starts with why, which leads to a choice, continues with a plan, gives way to a global competition, and carries on with celebration of the pursuit” @crossfitgames • #intheopen#requisitefitness#crossfit215#crossfit#fitness

2 weeks agoby requisitefitnessTHE OPEN! Coach @whatfredo is here to lay it all out with what you can expect • Who is it for? EVERYONE! RX, Scaled, Masters, Teens, Beginners, Veterans • When does it start? February 21st. We will be completing the workouts on Saturdays from 8-11am for five weeks • What…are you waiting for? Sign up today at www.games.crossfit.com under affiliate “CrossFit215” #requisitefitness#crossfit215#intheopen#crossfit#community

2 weeks agoby requisitefitnessStrong nurses ‍⚕️‍⚕️ • Did you know over 15% of our members are doctors or nurses? These men and women know the value of their own health and fitness. You’ll often see them at RF coming off a shift or about to head in. They make the time work on themselves in order to be more effective in their jobs taking caring of others. National Nurses week isn’t until May but we’d like to give a shout to some of these nurses who crush it week in and week out! #crossfitnurse#requisitefitness#crossfit215#trainwithapurpose#crossfit#health#wellness#fitness

2 weeks agoby requisitefitness#tbt The Open is less than 20 days away! The Open is a five-week test of fitness for all levels of ability. It’s an opportunity to showcase your hard work and cheer on your friends each week. We will be hosting the Open every Saturday beginning February 23rd (week 1) for five weeks running heats from 8am - 11am. If you cannot make Saturday’s and still want to participate, Friday’s or Monday’s will be available for make ups. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Register at Games.CrossFit.com under affiliate “CrossFit215” and sign your name on the whiteboard at the gym • #CrossFit#IntheOpen#requisitefitness#crossfit215

3 weeks agoby requisitefitnessThe Open is a five-week test of fitness. A challenge. Taking part in this contest looks different for everyone. Some will push themselves to go Rx'd, many will scale as needed and all will watch and cheer their friends. The Open is for everyone. We will be hosting the Open every Saturday beginning February 23rd (week 1) for five weeks running heats from 8am - 11am. If you cannot make Saturday’s and still want to participate, Friday’s or Monday’s will be available for make ups. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Register at Games.CrossFit.com! #CrossFit#IntheOpen#requisitefitness#crossfit215@liftingcultureapparel